Objective : Access the Nexus
Equipment: One(1) shoto lightsaber, One(1) standard E-11D blaster carbine, One(1) industrial-strength syntherope (50m), Two(2) standard thermal detonators, One(1) Imperial trooper helmet with standard comm connections
Team: Five (5) Eclipse soldiers, trained in stealth operations. Led by Sergeant Dag Velardi
Tags:
LE-03 (Leigh)
,
Taozi Fuyuan,
Loreena Arenais-Valhoun
,
Kalic Daws,
Ingrid L'lerim
,
Takui
,
Aeric Kaze
,
Ripley Kühn
,
Proximity:
Darth Carnifex
,
Second Son,
Iasha Rha
,
Maou
,
Maijan Paisea
,
Lunafreya Solidor
Four walls later, Sergeant Dag was leading up a staircase from behind. The rooms Ghost Squadron had blasted their way through seemed, for the most part, to be completely irrelevant: a small barracks, a storage space, a mostly-empty armory, a room kitted out like an arena in miniature. All of them empty, all of them strangely neat. Why Dag thought s
trangely was the key word here, he couldn't quite put into words, other than that the deeper they delved into the place the more the place
stunk. The pleasant tea-smell that had lingered around the Ghost had for the moment lapsed, and again he had the sense that the air was filled with what he imagined would result from someone trying to cook a Wookiee. By the time they reached the top of the staircase, it was enough to make his eyes water a little.
Which was also strange, because no one
else on the team seemed to smell it.
Except for her. Halfway down the next hall, the Ghost paused, raising a hand to stop the men from overtaking her. From the back, he could see her chin raise under the helmet as if catching something on the air.
"Sergeant," she said, sounding distracted.
"A word, if I may."
The other men turned to regard him, looking as puzzled as he felt, and Dag felt his ears burn as he sidled past them to stand at the front.
"Here in the hall? It's an exposed front."
"We have a few seconds. I'd like your input before we go any deeper."
His input?
The Ghost, madwoman hero of the Post, The Voice of Abbaji's silent and deadly hand, wanted
his input? Dag thanked his lucky stars that Gorello wasn't on this operation as he followed her lead into a side room, little more than a closet. Her helmeted gaze was as impassive as ever as her fingertips grazed the walls of the tiny room.
"Do you know anything about what a Force Nexus is?" she asked, turning back to Dag and the rest of the Squadron.
None of them responded, clearly waiting for Dag to be their spokesperson again.
"Can't say I do," he was forced to say, with a shrug to hide the flush across his neck. The briefing on this mission had used the word, sure, but he hadn't exactly had the time to do much more than a cursory search on the holonet as to its meaning. He'd been counting on her to take charge on that front.
"Hear rumors that it makes Forcies more powerful. Some good, some bad...the report said this was a bad one, but it's got intel we need. That's why we're trying to get there."
At that, the Ghost shook her head only once.
"We're not trying to get there, Sergeant," she said, strangely gently for someone in the middle of a warzone.
"We've been there since we came up out of the sewer."
That...was not what Dag was expecting.
"I--What?"
The Ghost nodded.
"A Nexus is...it's hard to explain. But it's not a thing. It's a place. A place where the Force is concentrated--close to the surface of things." she waved the hand wielding her saber vaguely, as if to indicate the air itself rather than anything in the air.
"Like when there’s an artery close to the surface of the skin, you know?"
She turned back towards the back of the room, her palm skimming the back wall almost lovingly.
"It makes people strong, yes, but it's not the kind of strong you get to be in control of. You can't tap into the flow of a Nexus without it tapping into you, too. People who do...it does things to them. Screws with their heads. Makes them see things, hear things--"
"Or smell things."
The helmet swung sharply back towards him again, and for a second it felt like whatever eyes were behind that helmet could see right through him. Dag was suddenly sure that she knew
exactly why he'd said it--that she knew why this place stunk of burning bodies.
"Yeah."
The confirmation made Dag a little dizzy.
"So, you're saying the whole PLACE is the Nexus," he said, trying to process it. He could get as far as recognizing that they were standing in the Nexus, yeah. The fact that the Nexus might be
affecting him, and what that might mean...not so much.
"So why didn't we just do what we were gonna do from that bathroom where we came up?"
This was the question the Ghost seemed to want to hear. She leaned in close to Dag, ushering the other men to listen close.
"The closer to the center we can get, the clearer any visions I can get from it will be." she said.
"But this is as close as we're getting without bumping into trouble." Her attention suddenly swung upward, and she pointed behind her at one of the room's far corners.
"That way's the Empress. Out of the question." Dag followed her finger as it crept halfway across the wall behind them.
"The vault would have been a good defensible choice, that was my first goal, but there's a Sith working the locks. He wants something in there, and denying him that's a waste of our time." She was pointing straight upwards now, at the rough unfinished stone of the ceiling.
"The ritual room nearby is the center, almost right above us, but we'd be popping up on fights that could easily decide we're more of a problem." Finally, the finger swung down, this time pointing at the floor near her feet.
"Or we could stay here. It's defensible, but there's only the one way in and out."
Dag was split between wanting to check the map to confirm her assertions, and wondering just how she managed to have all that in her head so easily. It wasn't the last time the Ghost had known things like that--she'd done something similar at the Post--but this was precise enough that it was a little disturbing. Was that a Nexus thing, or just a
her thing?
"Not a lot of good options," he finally managed, his own voice sounding weak in his ears.
"Right. So I want to know what you think we should do, Sergeant."
And there it was--the input she wanted from him. The Voice's agent just handed their entire tactical plan off to him, just like that.
"That--" He started, a little alarmed at the sudden responsibility.
"That's a lot of pressure all at once, Ma'am."
"I trust you, Sergeant." She reached up for his shoulder, patting it once; it came as an inexplicable reminder that this person was, somehow,
shorter than him.
"Don't think about it," she said, sounding quite sure of him.
"Just close your eyes and give an order."
Well, so much for having time to process things. If the Ghost was telling Dag not to think about it, she'd already made up her mind that whatever his orders would be, they would be the right orders. Once again, that meant processing what that
meant would have to come later. For now, it was time for the Sergeant to be the Sergeant. He sucked in a deep breath, and snapped around to the rest of the squad.
"Everyone, inside," he said briskly.
"Two men on the door. Ma'am, I want you to use your weapon and cut a hole in the ceiling...." he flung out his hand to point at a random point in the ceiling, just inside the door.
"There. Make sure it's big enough for a human to fit through, but make it a tight fit. Then we'll flank you while you do whatever magic thing you're here to do."
The Ghost nodded, then drew her lightsaber. As she drove its bloodshine blade into the ceiling and the rest of the men took up defensive positions, Dag got back on the comm.
"VoA, we're almost through. Anticipating some fire, but we're taking a defensive post while your guy does the Force thing. Any interference would be great."
A manhole-sized chunk of stone fell to the ground at their feet. Through the aperture, Dag could see a lavish space, decorated in what looked like red silks, and hear the snap-hiss of more than one lightsaber. 
